Cities have been able to ban retail sales, but state law says local governments cannot prevent cannabis deliveries on public roads

Published Oct 19, 2018 at 4:49 PM

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This March 31, 2018, photo shows a booth advertising a delivery service for cannabis at the Four Twenty Games in Santa Monica, Calif. California is moving a step closer to allowing marijuana deliveries in communities that have banned retail sales. Regulators on Friday, Oct. 19, 2018, announced preliminary approval of the proposed rule over objections from cities and police chiefs who say the policy will lead to crime.

California moved a step closer Friday to allowing marijuana deliveries in communities that have banned retail sales of the drug as regulators rebuffed cities and police chiefs opposed the rule.

The proposal is a major issue that could ultimately end up in court as the state continues to assemble pieces in the pot regulatory puzzle since recreational sales became legal Jan. 1.

Cities have been able to ban retail sales, but state law says local governments cannot prevent cannabis deliveries on public roads so the state — at this point — rejected the plea from opponents who said it would increase crime and cause other problems.

California police chiefs, the League of Cities and other groups launched an online petition this summer opposed to the proposal that showed wide-eyed children gesturing toward a pot delivery van outside a school.